Cowboy Bebop: Insomnia
by Sara Angeldust
Summary: The Red Dragon Syndicate is back, and while trying to escape it, Rain meets a strange man with a past similar to hers. Can the Bebop's crew figure out the truth behind the newly revived syndicate. Or will it swallow them all?
1. Upon the Sky, So Tearless Blue

Cowboy Bebop: Insomnia

By: Sara Angeldust

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Session 1**: Upon the Sky, So Tearless Blue**

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Disclaimer: 

Standard disclaimer applies here. I do not own the Cowboy Bebop characters mentioned throughout this story. The only ones that are mine are Rain, Bren, Gendrig, Dane, and any other new ones you may find. I am doing this simply for pleasure and not getting any money for it *snap monkies*, so don't sue me. ^-^V

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Authors Note: 

Heya people! This is the first and only time I will write an AN (author's note) at the beginning of a chapter, usually they will come at the end. First of all I wanna say that this is my first Cowboy Bebop fanfic so don't jump on my incorrect ass so quickly, I will try to be as true to the characters as possible. Secondly, I wish to state here and now that in my story, YES Spike survived his "little" fight with Vicious. Now I don't want a million reviews stating how this can't be and blah blah blah, this is my little delusional world, let me live in it. And lastly I wanna state that this story revolves around my original character, Rain, so you may not see the other main characters all the time, but they will pop up on a frequent enough basis. Thank you for reading this story and for those of you nice enough to, reviewing. It started off as literally, a dream, died, and then blossomed again, so I've put much work into this. Thanks. ^-^ 

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Full Synopsis:

Trying to escape the twisted strands of the revived Red Dragon Syndicate, Rain stumbles upon the one person with any answers to her life. But can this man, who has died and been born again, and his four members of the Bebop, save what remains of her soul? Or will the truth about what the Syndicate has done swallow them all…

Welcome back Space Cowboy… 

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Upon the sky, so tearless blue

A moonlit night, a lonely melody

It plays on the winds, a darkened storm.

This night a lonely stray

Walks among the living, a shadow at its feet

Waiting, nearing it's endless journey

For the truth is bared, for all to see

Upon the sky, so tearless blue

-Sara Angeldust

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Mars~

Two years after the death of Vicious and the down fall of the Red Dragon Syndicate

Staring lightheaded towards the ground, a gasp of immense pain escaped her lips. Stars danced in front of her eyes at the effort it took to breathe. How long had she been there? Minutes? Hours? Days? Her body ached with such agony that she couldn't think straight, let alone calculate any sort of a time scale. A bead of bloody sweat slowly made it's way down her temple, falling in the stain she knew was forming on her lap. There was no asking how much longer she could stand it, she knew she was going to pass out. Yet something inside her told her not to. A voice screamed at her that she had to stay awake, had to survive.

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You've already lived until this point, why give it all up now?

Because this hurts like a …

You've been in worse pain.

This stopped her. Had she? There were far too many broken bones to be counted, and one too may bullet hole scars to say if it was true. She was known for her constant array of injuries from assignments taken too lightly, yet were any of them this bad? The answer was no. They had all been sustained in the heat of a fight, the adrenaline pumping through her veins, pain deadened by the flow. They had never been purposefully inflicted on her for the pure joy of causing her pain. That was what made this time different, why she was about to drop out of the chair she was sitting in, and fall onto the cold cement ground she knew was beneath her.

A curse filled her lips as she tried to concentrate in the darkness. She shouldn't have even been in this damn situation. If only some people had kept their big mouths shut! She had been born into the syndicate for god's sake, her place of rank should have been assured from the day she was born. And still someone had to insist on making her go through the initiation rights. To 'prove herself', as Gendrig had told her. Bull. She was more then an asset to the dwindling population of the syndicate, if not _the_ syndicate, and everyone knew it. As soon as she was freed from this torture she was going to find the bastard and kill him. 

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You don't really mean that.

Of course I do. I'm going to do it this time. I'm going to find him and rip his throat out.

You would never.

Jeez, I know myself far too well.

She sighed. It was true. She did know herself far too well. She could never find the strength to kill someone out of pure, cold, blood. Sure, she could do it if it had been assigned to her, but never for personal gain, never for herself.

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I'm just not that kind of person. Damn it all!

She could feel the blood rushing to her head as she had it leaned forward, eyes staring at the dark floor of the cold cellar, arms to her sides. In a last minute effort not to faint she brought her head back up straight, sighing, her body twitching then relaxing. What time was it? It had to have been 48 hours by now, wouldn't it? Stupid syndicate and their stupid rules, it could all burn for what she cared. 

As she stared towards the still door she could feel the sweat on her body, the pure feeling of her sweat and blood pouring down ever crevice of her soul. What a feeling. Unlike some people in the syndicate, she did not feed off of it, but it did have that calming effect once in awhile. What a disgusting thought, to live only for the pleasure of blood and sweat. Yet she knew far too many men like that, as well as far too many women who clung to men like that. Whores. Thank God for her abilities as a fighter, or Gendrig would have been more then happy to shove her onto that low rung on the syndicates' ladder. It was her pure will that had prevented it from happening. 

Will was it? Well, whatever it was called, it was proving itself true by saving her butt more then once. Taking another deep breathe, long, sticky strands of her light green hair fell around her face, and without the strength to move them, she left them were they lay, leaning her head back against the wall. She had been far too busy trying to keep herself alive to have remembered to tie up her extremely long, greenish-brown hair when the 'welcoming committee' had arrived in her room that morning. Though it probably would have helped to have remembered, since her knee length hair had turned out to be a weak point during the blood fight. The men had been more then happy to use it against her, pulling it so hard that in some places it felt like she didn't even have any at all. A touch on these areas proved her wrong but still, it hurt like Hell. Not only did her head hurt, but her intire body, causing her so much agony she knew she would faint at any moment, if not from the pain, then from the lack of blood. God knew there was enough in the puddle on the floor to say at least that much. 

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Are you going to faint now? 

Of course I am you dumb ass. Can't you figure out that much?

"I would highly advise against it."

Her head snapped up, if snapped is what you could call it. It was more like, moved slowly forward. Either way she raised her head to see who had opened the door to speak to her, for that was what had happened. As her eyes cleared themselves as best they could, she could make out a figure standing at the door. He was tall, with shoulder length black hair and a small amount of stubble on his defiant chin. He looked at her with stern, cold eyes, that much she could tell, Hell knew what color they were since her eyes had not yet adjusted to the light. 

Sitting in the chair like a rag doll, a pool of blood around her she knew she must have looked like a pretty mangled site, really, looking much worse then she actually felt. But it had been a long time since she had been given the luxury to revel in her own pain. Most of the time the situation had called for immediate action, no time for pain, so she was taking this as a vacation. 

Pulling out of her thoughts, she focused again at the man at the door, giving him a look of stone. This was enough to get a nod from him and cause him to move away from the opened door. Silent exchanges like these were frequent between her and other members of the Syndicate. She maintained a silent demeanor not just because she really had nothing to say, but also to keep the others unbalanced. In her life, it had become a necessity to be able to cause a potential enemy to underestimate you, especially in a fight. It was for this reason that she had probably survived as long as she had. It was good for her that women were still revered as a lesser species. 

All the thinking she had been doing had allowed her to focus on something other then her pain, and as she lifted herself from the chair her body screamed in defiance. Every muscle seemed to tear its way away from her bones, causing ripples of jagged ice to go throughout her body like lightning. The action did not paralyze her as it would have most, but did the opposite, it spurred her body to move forward, walking at a steady pace towards the cell door. She clutched lightly at her left arm, out of its socket and bleeding from a knife wound which she had been unable to avoid. Again, holding her arm an act not really meant for its practicality, but for its act of making her seem weaker then she really was. She could quickly reset a dislocation, but she knew men would be standing outside the door waiting to see her in her weakened state. So give them their fun, she thought, all the better for when they came to try and kill her in the future, and they all would try. But none would ever do the deed, this she promised herself.

Walking out of the door, her body in a relaxed posture, right arm holding the left, she entered a large hallway full of light and an unruly sight. At least twenty of the Syndicate's enforcers had come to see her walk out of that room. A few of the sleazy women hanging from scared and nonscared arms of the men, but not as many as she would have thought. For some women, blood was a nasty sight to bear, ironic that they had joined a syndicate. Lined up against the walls of the fairly large hallway they all gave her looks of cold ice. Their faces and bodies ranged from late teens to late forties, pretty and ugly alike, really the syndicate had just stopped caring. Any man could join nowadays, as long as he passed the initiation, a new law imposed by Gendrig only three months after Vicious died (taking the Triad with him). It was this new policy of, you survive-you're in that caused the great diversity within the syndicate. A diversity that had strengthened their fighting capabilities, but had weakened their solid image. Many of the regular members ranging from business men, hackers, scientists, politicians, and even a police force or two, had been making it a habit of staying far from head quarters, not wanting to get their hands dirty with the grime that were the enforcers, the very men that made sure that they had a smooth running job.

But none of this was really her concern, after all, she was just trying to survive this like all the rest. Well like most of the others, anyway, she thought. As she paraded herself down the hallway, she walked at a comfortable pace. Although the men she passed were dangerous not only to her, but all humanity, they didn't dare attack or even touch her. This walking back to her rooms had turned into somewhat part of the initiation. Showing all others that you could be stronger then them and put some small scratches behind you would earn you respect from that day on. At least, that's how it was supposed to work. All others had walked down the hallway with their heads held high, wounds left open, seemingly not caring that they had dripped blood in a trail down the hallway, but not her. She had earned her respect from most of the members by being so close to Gendrig, and those who she hadn't, well, they would learn in their own time. 

She had passed most of them now, and neared the end of her journey down the straight part of the dark hallway. The blood red wallpaper seemed to laugh at her as she made her way towards the T in the halls, the left taking her to her room. As she had walked she had made it a game to put each face to a certain wound she had obtained, thinking to teach its owner a lesson or two when she recovered. She had to laugh at herself though. She would never get revenge like that, not even if she tried. She just wasn't that kind of killer. 

As she progressed down the hall, almost to the end, she saw a welcome smile and had to nod back. Dane had been her friend ever since she had helped him with his own wounds after his initiation about a year and a half before. A kind and quiet guy by nature, he was about her own age, eighteen, and really didn't belong in the syndicate, especially not as an enforcer. He had shortly cropped sandy brown hair, blue eyes, and a lanky body figure. Of course he did have plenty of muscles to spare, but you would never know it under the lax way he held himself or the constant smile he had on his face. The poor guy really didn't belong in the bloody politics of the syndicate, but a sick mother and four starving siblings had forced him into it, the only way he knew he could make money enough to support them. He had been a martial artist all his life, as he had told her, but the assassinating added to it was a newly developed thing which he genuinely hated. He had not joined the syndicate for the protection, but for the money alone, and unlike others who spent it on drugs or weapons, he used it for a good purpose. If she had been capable of crying, she would have. Not for his situation, for in this day in age his problems were small compared with others, but for his soul. It was a sad thing that someone with such a pure heart had to suffer the way he did. Yet if you had asked Dane, it wasn't suffering at all, just a path on life's great journey, one that he was going to walk with his head held high. 

She looked in his direction as he waved to her, cheery eyed as he usually was, and gave her a thumbs up. She resisted the urge to smile at him and continued on her way down the hall, the amount of people still waiting growing smaller and smaller. All she really wanted to do was get to her room, take a shower, and go to sleep. Sleep would be the best medicine. Well, sleep and a very large dose of aspirin, for her head felt like it was splitting apart from the constant banging of her headache. 

As she walked her eyes began to blur, the first sign that she might give into the pain her body screamed. It was because of this hesitation in her step that caused her to be surprised by a voice beside her.

"So, you survived after all, Rain." The voice made her jump and increased her headache three fold. Looking towards the voice she noticed its owner, Lucian. Rain gave him a venomous look and felt an animal growl rise in her throat. She hated that man beyond all reason. What a snake in the grass. Had she not known God to be a gracious master she would have sworn that he had brought Vicious back in the body of Lucian. She knew Lucian to remember Vicious as almost a mentor, someone who's every motion in life was to be studied and learned from. Of course, Rain laughed, Vicious had died, and at the hands of an ex-syndicate member as well, Spike Spiegel, both dead as dead got. So Vicious really wasn't as good a role model as Lucian thought. Rain's slight smile turned into another frown as she stared Lucian down. He was handsome by any standard, and had Rain not known his true soul she would have liked him, purely based on looks alone. He was fair haired, a natural blond, his hair cascading down to just below his shoulders, his eyes the color of an ever pine tree, and his stance that of a care free man. He wore his usual dark gray trench coat over what Rain knew to be some old martial arts uniform which looked far too much like a business suit. To most he would seem a kind man, handsome and gentle, but she knew him far better then that. He was a cruel man, bent on nothing good at all. 

She had known Lucian all her life, and all that time he had been her enemy. He had been a member of the syndicate back when Vicious had been on his way to taking it over, entering just after Spike Spiegel had left. He had supposedly proven himself a reliable ally and would have been Vicious's right hand man had Vicious not been killed by his former ally, Spike. This fact alone fueled Lucian to be constantly at war with Rain. Rain, being the unofficial leader of the syndicate and Gendrig's first resource. She believed that Lucian thought that if he could get rid of Rain that he would be the one next to Gendrig, and maybe, if he was lucky, would kill him and become leader instead. So far, Rain had been able to thwart all of his attacks, not because she felt she had any loyalty to Gendrig, that was far from being it, but because she refused to let Lucian kill Gendrig, therefore, placing her straight at the top of the Syndicate hierarchy. The last thing she wanted to do was to be forced to kill Lucian and have to deal with the complete mess that was the Syndicates "Triad". She refused to be the root of all the evils involved, feeling fine to just be tied to it. 

Rain finally let her smile come as she continued her way down the hallway, never saying a word to Lucian as she passed. This must have disappointed him, for he had always been one to enjoy starting a fight, so as Rain passed him he continued with her, saying something that Rain refused to hear. As she turned left down her own hallway she found her room, the only door in the dark hallway, and turned the knob, walking straight into the dark foyer. She calmly, yet forcefully, closed the door behind her, shutting it in Lucian's face. Leaning against the door, her eyes closed, she waited for him to get the message, when he finally did she heard his agitated foot steps stomp away from her room, headed in the opposite direction. 

Rain sighed, glad to have him out of her hair, and to be back in her rooms. Being so close to Gendrig had given her the luxury of a large living area, at least six rooms, including a foyer, large bathroom, small kitchen, richly decorated living room and bedroom, and a work room that she could call her own. The idea that these had been given to her by people she really didn't like had been sifted through her mind a long time ago, and now she had finally settled into her home, feeling at peace only when she was alone in her comfortable suite. 

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What a relief to finally be back here. She thought, rubbing her still dislocated arm. 

With a quick twist and thrust with her opposite arm, she fixed the problem and sighed, moving her arm in circles, making sure she had put it back correctly and that it was working. With her eyes still closed she made her way towards her bathroom, never turning on a light. Her senses had always been extremely sharp, and she could walk the most unfamiliar of streets blind folded, a task she practiced now, in the absolute darkness of her rooms, the blinds completely shut. Running her hand through her sticky hair, Rain finally made her way to her bathroom, opening the door to an eerie silence beyond. As she stripped off her tattered, stained clothes she gave into the comfort of knowing she was home. Sighing, she turned on the water in her shower to a scalding hot temperature and stepped in, intent on washing all of the grime she had acquired off of her body.

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The tears ran blood red down her face, small drops of life flowing in waves down soft, innocent cheeks. Why this was happening she would never fully understand, but the one thing she did know was that it was this miracle that caused her to wake from her deep sleep. How long had she been like this, the haze full and dense all around her almost naked body? The sensation of floating in a pool of something calmed her otherwise panicking mind. Where was she? Why couldn't she remember anything? Like a sleeper coming out of a dream she opened her eyes, the warm sensation of some thick liquid welcoming her eyes. For some reason she did not protest this, nor did she try to struggle when she realized that she was not breathing air, but liquid, liquid air. Why she did not panic she would never understand, but she took the images of her new world in strides, examing the lights outside of the large tube she was floating in.

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What's happened to me? Why…why can't I remember anything…I…my past…

In some recess of her mind she knew she should be panicking, knew she should be crying out, but for some reason, her mind and body did not feel that way. The liquid almost rocked her like a child in a cradle, a comfort which she felt would soon be denied, so she clung to it. 

Opening her eyes, she awoke to a strange sight. All around her people in white coats moved and hurried, screens shone bright green with words and messages beyond her current sight. The liquid she was in was tinted some what of a yellow, inhibiting her from seeing less then a few feet from the outside of her tube. It was then that one of these men in white coats stopped and came closer to the glass separating her from the outer world. All she could see was the fuzziness of his outline, at least fifty years old she could already tell he was shorter then her. His graying hair lay massed on top of his head, his glasses strewn across his face. They must have been in the room for a long time, she could almost smell their unwashed bodies through the glass. 

A younger looking man with yellow hair stepped up next to the first man and they exchanged some words. By reading their lips she caught some words like, 'open' and 'now' but that was all. It perplexed her to know how she knew she could read their lips, for to her knowledge, it was not a skill all people had. How did she know that? She could remember nothing of her past, so how did she know anything at all? She felt so like a child, a newborn child not yet brought into the world, still hovering in the medium between life and death. Yet she knew she was fully matured, fully capable of adult thought and thinking processes. 

Suddenly the whole world became so very cold. She never actually felt the tube open, nor the sensation of the liquid draining out, but the cold was almost unbearable. She fell forward onto the floor like a rage doll, her thin, wet sheer dress clinging to her body. Her lungs heaved as she took in her first real breathe of air, coming to terms with not having liquid in her throat. As she lay on her side on the cold, hard ground, she felt as her stomach coughed up the remaining amount of liquid inside of it. It was then that she first felt the touch of another human, though harsh as it was, she was shocked out of breathe as the beating of another heart came to her ears. The sound was so strong, so hard, that she flew open her eyes, staring straight into those of the fifty year old man. She contemplated this as he rolled her onto her back and grabbed her wrist, taking her pulse most likely. 

As she looked around the room all activity had stopped, everyone had stopped what they were doing just to stare at her, her limp body lain across the floor. 

"Gendrig, we should inform Vicious of this. He did want to know when she woke up ." 

She searched the room for the voice, which had come from the young blond haired man. She found him to her right, half bending over her himself. She supposed that the man holding her left wrist was the man he was referring to, Gendrig.

"No." Gendrig said, his voice strong yet high pitched in a way that made her cringe. "Do not tell Vicious any of this. Inform him…inform him that we lost the subject…she is dead." 

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Dead? Am I dead?

"But Gendrig, this…this is blasphemy. If he finds out that she isn't we'll, we'll ALL be dead. If he tells the Triad…" 

She could hear the urgency in his voice, yet the man beside her remained calm, moving from her wrist to examine her eyes and nose.

" I don't care how you tell him, send one of the newer guys if you don't want to be killed. As I said, the girl is dead. Now go, before I do the deed myself."

She watched as the blond haired man turned pale and shook his head, leaving with a hurried step toward a door some feet from her head. 

She returned her fuzzy attention to the man who was still examing her, his hands checking for what she thought were breaks or bruises on her body. This man, Gendrig, it was at that very moment that she knew she hated him, knew she would never grow to like him. That, and the words that he spoke so low, that only she could hear them.

"Stupid fool. I will not give her up, not now, not after what I've gone through to get her into this world. No. No Vicious, you will not have _His_ child. Not while I'm alive."

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Rain stared calmly at the ceiling above her, it's dark shadows casting strange shapes across her bed. The scenes of that dream, that memory, floated fresh in her mind. Such dreams were always on her mind, haunting her, trying to unbalance her. None ever would. She would not let them. Such weaknesses could get her killed, or worse. Thoughts aside she wondered again what Gendrig had meant by _His_ child. Who was He? She new exactly who her mother was, that secret had not been kept from her, but He was another story.

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What have you never told me Gendrig? What is so important about Him?

"This will never do." She said out loud. And it was true, wondering would never get her anywhere. Her whole life she had been taught to act without thought, just to act. It had saved her life so many times and it would have to be the principal she would use to get the answers she wanted. Never contemplate, just do. Tomorrow she would talk to Gendrig. Tomorrow she would learn. 

Closing her eyes Rain fell back into a dreamless sleep.

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The next morning was one of slow process, with nothing to really do Rain found herself wondering around the maze of hallways and rooms within the buildings which housed the Syndicate. It's predecessor would be proud and astonished at the shear size of the syndicate's grounds now. What was less then a few buildings had turned into almost an intire section of the mars city. Though people unconnected to the syndicate passed freely within, unbeknownst of the group all around them, those involved in the syndicate and the darker side of the city knew it well, and either stayed far away or worked within it's walls. 

The syndicate had acquired a very large group of informants and spies which kept bars, clubs, and stores around the surrounding area, and the reputation of the area being one for rowdy parties kept the information and jobs coming. Their hadn't been a rival syndicate since Vicious was killed, and Gendrig had reduced the Triad to nothing but bumbling cousins of those who had once been the leaders. Puppets, used only for image and no real purpose. He was the true leader, the Don of the new syndicate.

It seemed many things had gone downhill since Gendrig took over. She new this from the fact that she had been around when the syndicate had been at it's best. Three years had taught her much about how it should work, how people should respond and go about their business. Those days had changed, and even though their territory had grown significantly, the businessmen, politicians, and other high ranking people, had begun to back out. Knowing that they were going to be losing business, they slowly dropped from the Red Dragon's syndicates ranks, and as they dropped, so did the syndicates ties to the black market. Their ways of making money were slowly turning into cheap copouts, and only a handful of true business men remained. The trafficking of illegal products their last resort. 

The true reason for this drop of connections was really because of Gendrig's obsession with having as many "enforcers" as he could. He too had been around when the names Vicious and Spike had been ones to be feared, and the idea that he too could posses that kind of power fueled him to bring in as many second-rate killers as possible. Really the only true card he played was her. Rain was really the only enforcer that any of the business men feared. Sometimes it seemed they feared her a bit too much, the reasons for this beyond her. It seemed that they knew some deep dark secret that even she could not recall, a fact that had come into play in more then a few situations. This fact aside, it seemed that the drop out of the other businesses had been that they had seen a rowdiness in these new additions that did not sit well with them. The syndicate had always been a bonded type of organization, and the infiltration of men with not a single connection to it had been like a nasty mole on their faces. So they dropped, pure and simple, only the threat of letting Rain after the remaining few keeping them in. 

So many men were against him and his ideals that it had almost become funny to her. She had learned most of this from her eaves dropping upon conversations of syndicate members, behind doors and walls as she walked alone through the halls. Though Gendrig had spoken privately with her about informing him of these conversations, for he knew all of her skills well, she silently refused to do it. Any information given to him would only cause him to send her on a 'job' in which she would have to kill someone. Not that it bothered her, for she had grown up around death, and killing was not something she took as a big thing, but it was the principle of doing his dirty work for him that was beginning to make her sick. Especially now that she understood what was happening to the inner workings of the syndicate. 

So whenever he would ask her what new news she had for him she would make something up, something that would not have to involve her, something that was a mere smidgen of the truth, and let that be that. She felt that these meetings were making Gendrig more smug as the days went on. She knew he felt that he was in charge, that he had a complete grip on the syndicate's situation and that no one would defy him. Had he known how many of the men he thought were in allegiance with him weren't, there would be hell to pay. Of course, he would never do any of the actual paying, it would be her, she would be the only one to actually go out and kill them, and it was that reason alone that was keeping the street members, not just the business men, in line. It was the knowing that she could come after them at any moment, just from the flick of a finger from Gendrig. They feared her, most of them that was, and they knew she would do anything he told her to without distinction. It disgusted her how much this 'family' was really more like a master and his dogs. 

Turning a corner on her walk through the buildings, Rain came face to face with someone that she actually wanted to see. 

"Hey babe, what's up?" Dane said, a goofy smile on his face.

Rain gave him a flick of a smile and nodded her head, indicating that nothing was "up". Dane gave her and even bigger smile and came up to her, putting his arm around her shoulder in a friendly manner. Dane had always been like a brother to her, about her age and a bit taller then her they had become fast friends, a breathe of fresh air for Rain. So many of the men were bent on killing and earning money, not making friends. Dane was so innocent yet so brutal when he knew he had to be. She wished so much for him to get out of the syndicate, to get a real job, and support his mother the right way, but as he told her, he knew no other way too, and arguing with him never got anywhere. 

"Ahh, silent again today are we? Ya know Rain, you really should smile more, you have a very pretty one." 

This made her snort.

"Dane, have you forgotten where you are? This is a syndicate, not a circus, what is there to smile about?" 

Dane laughed as they began to walk down the hallway, his arm still around her shoulder.

"Aw come on, no wonder no one ever wants to be around you, you're so negative all the time. Lighten up…oh and oh yeah." At this Dane seemed to sober up himself. Stopping, he turned to look at Rain straight in the eyes, his sense of fun almost totally gone. She stared at him not knowing what he was going to say, but if he was acting serious, it could not be good.

"Gendrig wants to see you. All the enforcers and even some of the 'others' are gathering in the audience chamber. Something's up and I don't like the smell of it." 

Rain stared soberly back at him. Something public that involved her? Well this was new. Gendrig had never tried to put her skills into the syndicates public, let alone even confirm that she existed at some points. Yet if he had the audacity to invite her into something public it must be good. So with a sigh Rain voluntarily went with Dane, to what exactly, she really wasn't sure.

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I'm going to leave this as the end of the first chapter. What do you guys think? Good, bad, eh? I don't know if I'm going to write anymore on a count of some nasty writers block, but if I get good enough feedback on this I may just. Yah never know. Also, be advised that I just hacked off the end of this and posted it, so there may be more then a few grammatical and spelling errors in it. I've also tried as hard as possible to make this a believable story, so I did a fair amount of research on Chinese Syndicates etc. How's my information on that? Good, bad, etc. Please read and review, I take all reviews with an open mind. Thanks for the time, and feel free to visit my website *shameless plug* 

thanks

-Sara Angeldust


	2. Wayward Traveler

Cowboy Bebop: Insomnia

By: Sara Angeldust

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Session 2**: Wayward Traveler**

I can't recall myself

How I went down.

Did I get shot,

Or shoot myself?

I'd like to say hello,

I'd like to say I care.

I'd like to let you know.

Yet, nothing here's the same with me

Nothing here's the same with me.

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Disclaimer:

Standard disclaimer applies. I do not own the Cowboy Bebop characters mentioned throughout this story. The only ones that are mine are Rain, Bren, Gendrig, Dane, and any other new ones you may find. I am doing this simply for pleasure and not getting any money for it.

The anguish, sorrow, and hatred dripped from her like acid rain. She walked slowly, and with a slight limp down the street, rain drops falling un-ceremonially down her body, her leather jacket and sleeveless green shirt beneath it completely soaked.

How could she have not seen it before? Not noticed all the signs earlier? Now it was too late, and that was fine with her, she was getting out. Though she had to admit, she was doing it with a bit more noise than she really wanted.

Any minute now the guys chasing her would find her again, and she would have to run. She really detested feeling like the prey, especially wounded prey, her leg pounding from the gunshot wound, her side stinging from a bullet that had breezed too close to her skin. This reminded her of her own weapon and she twitched her fingers, still feeling the gun in her left hand. Without any real effort, she pulled another cartridge from her jacket pocket, throwing the spent one away into the street, loading the new. How long had it been since she had lost those men? Two minutes, three? However long it was, they were too slow. And what about _him_? She had clearly seen his face, his physical features all she had ever thought them to be.

As she checked to make sure the safety was off of her gun, she began to hear the sounds she had been waiting for. The man from the bar had slowed them down, and they had decreased in numbers, but the syndicate guys were back on her trail, maybe two blocks away. She could hear their feet pounding behind her, and turned to shoot at them, the sound of her gun somewhat of a comfort.

__

1 hour earlier

Who would ever have thought that he, Spike Spiegel, would be back on Mars. Let alone back in the same area where he had spent so much of his life in the Red Dragon Syndicate. And not just in the same city, but the exact same neighborhood, in the exact same bar he had inhabited so many years ago, it seemed. He stifled a laugh at his own humor as he took another drink of his gin, his arms lying relaxed on the bar, his head bent down staring at nothing.

He could still remember Faye yelling at him, calling him stupid and every other word in any language that meant he had lost his mind. She had screamed at him questions of why he was being so suicidal and stupid. Really, he had to wonder that himself. Only an idiot would go back to someplace that had caused him so much grief in the past, let alone a place that had tried to kill him…twice, and probably still wanted him dead. That was, if they even thought him alive to begin with.

So many truly believed he had died that last time, and in reality, he had. It had really felt as if he had died and been reborn again, waking up in a familiar place, yet with not so familiar emotions swimming through him. And now, back at this place, he was trying to finally place those old lives in a box and shove them in the attic. It was proving more difficult then he had thought, but what better place to start then at the beginning, right?

He shifted in his stool as he listened to the sounds around him, taking them in as they came. The man behind the counter was a familiar face. Bren, they called him, and he had been there even before Spike had joined the Syndicate. He was a messenger for them, and a spy of sorts, listening to talk between drinking buddies to be transmitted to those that wanted it, and could pay the price he demanded. He wasn't really that old, maybe in his mid forties, young to the world, and ancient to the syndicate. He still had his dark brown hair, cut short to the back of his neck. His gray eyes were the same as well, a steely color, never revealing the emotions or thoughts he carried beneath. He was also some what of a burly guy, an attribute that had increased since the time Spike had last seen him. He had been working out, and almost religiously by the looks of his bulging biceps.

"Must have gotten boring without me around." Spike said in his cool manner, taking another sip of his drink.

Bren shrugged his shoulders, knowing Spike well enough to know what he was talking about.

"It wasn't something I didn't take advantage of." He said as he dried another glass and put it back in it's place on the shelf.

Spike tipped his glass to the man and finished it off, nudging it forward for more. Bren took it without comment, returning with another.

The men tolerated each other in silence, the contemplative air between them thick. Spike thought he was doing pretty well for his first time back since Vicious's death. He'd probably have a good buzz going before long and be able to shrug off his thoughts by then. Which ever way the dice fell, he was going to get rid of this place for good, maybe actually start something worthwhile this time around.

It was like an F5 came ripping through the door when the young woman walked in. Spike could smell the Syndicate all over her, and even though she entered with calmness and a tranquility that almost seemed deadly, he couldn't remove his glance from her. Something was starting and he took another swig of his drink, trying to drown it away.

Rain walked into the bar with a bit of a giddiness about her. She saw few faces turn to look at her, but she knew everyone knew she was there. Her hands in her pockets, she walked steadily up to the bar, taking a seat 3 away from a stranger that she could not get a good look at. She put her elbows up on the bar and sighed slightly. Bren recognized her immediately and came over, a strange look on his face.

"Here alone?" He asked, pulling a glass from the shelves behind him, he knew what she would want.

Rain stared back at him, giving him a knowing look. Bren had asked about the men that always followed her anywhere outside of the syndicate. Gendrig's orders. She was not allowed out of the small cropping of main syndicate buildings without someone to tag along. Why? Probably because Gendrig was possessive with his toys. Even on assassination trips she always had a few guys with her, even though he knew damn well she could handle any situation alone, but apparently Bren knew nothing about the events that had occurred just hours before. He wouldn't know yet about her ascension, nor about Gendrig's public release of her existence. She smiled slightly as she took the drink he handed her, sipping it lightly.

"I thought I'd try it alone for once, you know, air out my wings." She said as she finally turned to glance at the man sitting beside her.

Rain froze slightly, her lips still on the curve of her glass. Her eyes must have been messed up, either that or the lighting was terrible in the bar, but she knew what she was seeing. She knew both Bren and the guy had seen her twitch, but she tried to act natural about it, changing her body language to look just as if she had been startled that she wasn't alone at the bar. It was useless though, she saw the guy tense up, he could probably read the word Syndicate written all over her. Bren just smiled, cleaning the counter with laughter on his face.

Rain glared at him, her eyes asking him why he hadn't told her _He_ was sitting next to her. Bren's shoulder's shrugged, a, 'you didn't ask' response. Rain relaxed, realizing there was nothing she could do about the situation, just to ride it out.

She gave him a good look this time, knowing that he knew she had noticed him, so there was no more need for secrecy. He looked different than she had seen on screens and in old holographs. He was taller, older looking, although she couldn't imagine he was any older than 33, maybe even 30. His dark green hair was messy looking, though controlled at the same time, giving his face somewhat of a halloed look. His blue jacket revealed fluid muscles and a hidden gun that she wouldn't forget, his lazed body language telling her that he was just as care free and laid back as she had heard. Yet he was deadly, she didn't need someone to tell her that. He could move like water, free flowing, yet quick to kill. His eyes told of years beyond his age, and she tried not to look into his eyes, failing for an instant.

She could tell he was measuring her up as well, taking in her thigh high boots, shorts, green sleeveless shirt and black leather jacket as a cover up, which it was, for at least one gun and several knives. They were evenly matched, even more so than the man would care to know. Her age could tell lies that most men less experienced than him would believe in an instant, but this man, this free flowing man, knew better. He eyed her cautiously, but seeing no threat in her own lazed manner, pretended to ignore her, pulling a pack of cigarettes from inside his jacket pocket.

__

Those things will kill you. She told him mentally, taking another sip of her drink.

They sat in silence for at least a half hour, her drinks coming and going, none of them alcoholic. She was too tense to try and dull her brain this night, while the guy beside her was trying his best to keep his down. She could tell it would take a lot to get him stinking drunk, but he was trying.

Throughout this time Bren watched the door, expecting the ones who should have been behind Rain to show up any minute, but when they never did he began to get a nervous twitch. He finally began to realize something was up and Rain could see the glare in his eye when he looked at her. She just smiled, she loved to make him twitch.

It wasn't much past midnight, and the bar was settling down. Rain could count on her hands the number of people still sitting and enjoying themselves. She was still sober, and _he_ was still trying to drink himself into a stupor. So when the door opened Rain knew who it would be, and she was prepared for it. As the door closed and opened noisily she re adjusted herself in her seat, using the motion to aquaint herself with the location of all her weapons. She didn't want to start a fight with anyone, but she knew this one wasn't going to be pretty.

She stayed staring at the bar top as someone sat down next to her. She didn't need to look up, she knew it was Dane; they would use anyone to get her to comply with Gendrig's wishes, and they knew her relationship with Dane.

He sat down quietly next to her, killing any kind of joy she was feeling at her newly accosted freedom. As he placed his hands on the bar he stayed looking at the top, trying to ignore the five other guys that had come with him.

"He sent you to fetch me, didn't he?"

Rain replied, her tone quiet, yet blunt. She looked out of the corner of her eye to see the kind of men Gendrig had made to tag along with Dane. All five of them were pretty strong, she knew them all. They were ruthless as well, some of the best enforcers that Gendrig had ever taken in. Two looked their part, bulging muscles and scared faces hidden under jackets that did nothing to lighten their ferocity. The other three were men you'd expect to see in some elite company, but Rain knew their true business dealings, and none of them were nice.

She heard Dane sigh as he pulled his hair back from his face, taking a glance down the bar at the guy sitting down there. Dane's eyes gave him a curious glare, and Rain noticed the guy flicker his gaze at Dane; the two men knew the other was there. Rain, nudged Dane, a sign that he didn't have to worry about the other guy, and Dane figured so; the man looked like syndicate material, even if he was playing the part of a drunkard.

"He's serious Rain, he made _these_ guys come along." Dane said, ignoring the guy on the other end of the bar.

She shrugged her shoulders, she knew that.

"I don't care what he thinks, and I don't care who he sends after me." Her gaze flickered to the glass in front of her, an uncharacteristic look of sympathy in her eyes, but she refused to look at Dane.

"I don't want to drag you into this Dane, but I'm sure that's why Gendrig sent you; he knew I wouldn't want to get you involved. You were collateral."

Dane sighed.

"You don't have to protect me Rain, I'm not a child. _You're_ the one I'm worried about."

She held back a grunt. He was older than her, of course he wasn't a child, but in this world she was his senior, and his friend; she didn't want to see him get hurt.

"There's nothing you can do about me, worry about your family. And don't get yourself killed." She said, pulling some money out of her pocket. As she placed it on the bar she stood from her stool. She noticed the other guy twitch at her movements, his body tensing. He too knew something was going to happen.

"Dane, when I shoot you," She said almost as a whisper, still not looking at him, but at the five men in front of her, sizing them up. "Stay down, and don't come after me."

She heard Dane take a quick breath and attempt to say something, but it was too late. She put her hands in her jacket and proceeded to saunter casually towards the door and the five men. She hoped she could keep this less violent than she was expecting it to be.

As she reached the door, one of the business looking men stepped up to her, half blocking her exit from the door.

"Are you ready to go back then?" He said with a glint in his eye. She could feel the fight emanating from him, and it almost made her giddy herself. Though she hated to admit it, she loved a good fight.

"Of course not." She said snidely with a smirk. The five men took this as their cue, but none of them got a move in edgewise. Before any of them could blink Rain pulled her gun from the holster on her thigh, turning her torso with lightening speed to fire two shots at Dane. She didn't know if she'd hit him or not, but her aim wasn't usually off. When she turned she noticed that the guy that had been sitting next to them had already jumped up and over the bar. So much for being drunk.

Turning back, the five men had already gone into motion. They tried to jump her, two with knives, but she managed to kick and punch her way through them, contacting one guy in the face with her gun barrel. She shoved through the blundering men and straight through the door, the handle breaking with her pure strength as she shoved on the wooden frame. As she tore ass down the street she could hear fighting sounds from the bar and the running of footsteps behind her. The shots came later as her feet carried her through alleyways and past closed shops, her mind blazing faster and faster.

It was a gutsy move, especially for a young girl that didn't seem to have much strength. Yet when she pummeled her way through the five men and broke the door with such ease he knew he'd done well not to underestimate her. In her wake to escape she'd shot the man whom he'd assumed to be a friend of hers. Spike had grabbed him after the shots had been fired and pulled him over the bar with him. Only one of the bullets had hit him, blood forming on his shirt over his shoulder. But Spike knew the wound was the least of his problems, especially if his hunch about this being a syndicate related incident was right. The girl was a runaway if he'd ever seen one, and he'd known many.

"Shit!" The guy next to him swore, ripping off a part of his shirt as he caught his breathe, tying the torn piece around the bleeding wound on his shoulder.

"Are you alright?" Spike asked, slightly preoccupied with trying to pull out his gun and find out where the remaining men were at the same time. The guy grunted a response that Spike took as a yes as he tried to tie the cloth with his teeth, his eyes slightly glazed from the stress of events.

"You're an idiot." He said as he finished, trying to find his own gun. Spike could hear footsteps getting closer to the bar; Bren had vanished as well.

"That's what they tell me." He said back, edging towards the end of the bar. Spike was just in time to catch one of the larger men off guard as he came walking to the edge. A quick kick unsettled the lug, but he still managed to get his gun between him and the bar. Spike dodged the bullet with only centimeters to spare, shooting off his own gun. The guy hit the ground with a thud, but Spike didn't know if he was dead or not. His aim had been off lately, and he really didn't know what he'd hit. The guy didn't move as Spike stood, his eyes and that other sense telling him that the other four had gone off after the girl.

"Shit."

"You've already said that." Spike said in response to the guy's choice words, checking his pocket for extra cartridges; he found three.

"I'm surrounded by maniacs," The guys said as he stood up and leaned against the bar, his gun out where he could use it, wincing at the pain in his shoulder. "her for doing that and you for getting involved. They'll be after you once they've gotten her you know?" He said, giving Spike a gaze filled with remorse and hard knowledge, which confirmed with Spike that this was related to the syndicate.

He shrugged his shoulders, he knew it far too well. But unlike the girl, he had a few more options. He could leave and never come back, which was what he should have done in the first place; or go after the men and kill them so they couldn't report him to whoever it was they were placed under. Option two was being far too nice, since it would get the girl out of whatever trouble she was in as well. Spike searched his pockets for his cigarettes, what he'd been making of a nice alcoholic buzz completely was gone, he was worked up now. As he lit one and put the pack away he stashed his gun, putting his hands in his pockets.

"Not my problem. Good luck though."

Option one was _definitely_ looking like the way to go.

"Wait, hold on wait! You've got to help her."

Spike stopped at the broken door way as the guy came running around the bar. It was the first time Spike had gotten a good look at the guy and noticed he was nothing more than a kid. He couldn't have been more than twenty or twenty-one, and his eyes were too innocent for the type he knew to be in the syndicate. It tugged on something within him and he told it to shut up.

"Look kid, I don't have time for…"

"Look, I know I've got no right to ask," He pleaded as he pulled his blonde hair back from his face, looking pitiful. "but, if anyone can help her it's you, I mean, look at you."

Spike raised his eyebrow at the comment and held back the urge to see what the kid meant, but he already knew he'd noticed his fighting skills. Damn kid was perceptive.

"Look, I really…"

"You're a bounty hunter right?"

Spike's interest peaked. The kid was _really_ perceptive.

The guy noticed he'd hit a nerve and leaned hard against the door way, blocking Spike from leaving. His eyes went wily and desperate at the same time, and his words were hurried.

"Almost all of those guys have huge bounties on their heads, syn…" His voice faltered, but Spike wasn't shocked by what he was saying, he knew. "syndicate or not, they won't be missed or searched for if they're turned in."

Spike sighed and threw his finished cigarette on the ground. Option one was slowly fading into the streets.

"And what do I get for doing this besides the bounties? It doesn't seem like a balanced game to me."

The blonde guy gave Spike a look, but smirked.

"If you stop Rain from being killed I'll pretend this little meeting never happened, Spike Spiegel."

Spike couldn't hold back the shock on his face, and he wanted to punch the satisfaction off of the kid's face, but found he couldn't. His face quickly turned stoic again and he glared at the kid, trying to decide if he'd seen him before.

"Spike Spiegel…"

"Is dead." The kid finished for him, pleading with his eyes. "And he'll stay that way if you just do this small thing and help her, I know you can."

"What if I kill you and just leave?" His words were slightly heated, but Spike was still uneasy about how easily this kid had known who he was, even if he'd been "dead" for almost two years.

"You would have done it already." He retorted back, glaring Spike down. "Come on, time's running out."

Spike sighed, he hated it when he was backed into a wall.

"How do you know I just won't leave here and kill them all, that girl included?"

The kid's eyes became sentimental for a second and his body posture lazed, he held his shoulder lightly, looking out towards the street; rain threatening the graying sky.

"I don't know, for some reason I feel like I can trust you." His eyes turned from the street back to Spike, sincere. "You remind me of her."

Spike held back an odd smile as he found himself walking out of the bar, his hand moving to find his gun again.

"Thanks, and the name's Dane!" The kid yelled after him as Spike followed the disturbed streets for which way they'd all gone. He kicked himself mentally. Damn second option, and damn his sentimentality.

After Dane had told her that Gendrig wanted to see her with so many people around, Rain become extremely suspicious. She walked alone to the giant chamber where the triad and Gendrig held trials and, her mind a buzz with what this was meaning. Somehow she thought she had an idea, but she didn't like it.

She entered the giant room and heard hushed husky voices, there was probably more than twenty or so people in there. Just as she remembered it, the room was lavishly decorated. Tapestries and gems hung from places on the huge walls and the ceiling held an extremely large chandelier. This room was a testament to the Syndicate's power, or at least, their past power. She knew they'd be expecting her, so she didn't hesitate to step out to the middle of the huge audience floor, the huge dragon beneath her feet sinister in eye and body. The voices stopped, and it hadn't taken long for Gendrig to show himself, dressed rather formally in a Chinese looking garb, standing below the platform where the Triad sat.

The Triad was nothing of their former self. After Vicious had slaughtered them in an attempt to take over the syndicate, they'd been left with nothing. With the Triad out of the way Vicious would have taken over, but after Spike had killed him nothing had been left. So after Gendrig took it he'd replaced the Triad with bumbling idiots. Sure, they looked the part in their garb and mannerisms, but they were nothing to what their cousins had been. They were men who's family didn't find them worthy to be in such high positions, and when Gendrig offered them the coveted positions under him, they'd grabbed at it like starving men. They were under his thumb, as they'd failed in gaining any followers of their own. These men were only puppets, and no matter what it got them, they knew it.

So Rain stared blankly up at the three, wishing she could burn holes into their flesh with her eyes. When Gendrig stepped forward she bowed to him politely, wondering why he was smirking so.

"Glad to see you're feeling well. No scars I hope?"

Rain tried not to smirk as he spoke his words loudly, a show for everyone else. She wanted to laugh at his comment about scars; he could only imagine.

"Of course not sir." She said back, keeping her own voice only loud enough for him and the Triad to hear.

"Good, excellent. Now, for the matter at hand."

Gendrig turned from her and addressed the Triad now. Rain tried to keep her curiosity in check, but still wondered what he needed all these people here for. Around her stood about twenty or so of the most influential people in the syndicate. She recognized businessmen and black market dons a like, none of them looking happy to be there. She saw Lucian and held back the urge to spit on him. Something here was weird.

She half listened as Gendrig addressed the Triad, trying to think of things she'd have to do after whatever this was, was over. But certain words began to catch in her mind, and she began listening again.

"And so, with the council of the Triad, it has been decided that Chaos will take her position beside me, second to only I and the Triad."

Rain tried not to cringe at the use of the formal name she'd never used. Chaos had been what Gendrig had called her since she could remember, but to keep what she really was underneath the noses of those who didn't need to know someone had named her Rain. She'd liked the second name better, and had never used Chaos.

As reality hit her she tried not to look taken back, letting a blank expression take her face instead of the shock she felt inside. Second to only him? This was bad. She didn't want to be any higher up in the syndicate's ranks, she was fine being the shadow that followed him, now she was the enforcer that stood beside him.

Murmurs started all around her, but she blocked them out. She gave Gendrig a nasty look, but he ignored it, motioning her to follow him out of the chamber and into a back hallway that lead to a room, his office.

They'd left the syndicate members rather abruptly, but she didn't care, Gendrig was up to something. As he sat down at his desk he opened a drawer and pulled something out, tossing it on the large desk between them.

"Was that wise?" She questioned, referring to the display he'd made.

Gendrig put his elbows on the table and shrugged.

"Whether it was or not it's just up to you to follow my orders, understood?"

She nodded back, the same dance they'd done for years. She'd question his authority, he'd give her a simple and blunt answer, and she'd leave it at that. She didn't really care if she ever got a straight answer from him, she already knew what he was thinking. His authority had been questioned when the enforcers had demanded that Rain be "tested". Gendrig didn't like others playing with his toys, and this was his way of making this toy real. She had more power than the enforcers now, more power than Lucian. They were going to be really pissed and she didn't want to deal with it.

As she stared at the desk she noticed that the thing he'd put down was a picture, and she tried to get a good look at it. All she could make out was the upper body of a man, his dark green hair somewhat messy and chaotic, his face handsome yet stern at the same time. His blue suit was barely visible underneath a black trench coat, and Rain didn't need to ask if he had been in the syndicate, even if he looked rather young.

"A son of yours?" Rain questioned, knowing very well that Gendrig wasn't the type to have had children, but she was pissed; she wanted to mess with him.

Gendrig ignored her words and slid the picture over to her. Rain picked it up and looked closely, feeling like she should know this man.

"So…"

"That's your father."

Rain's eyes betrayed her, widening slightly in shock. He was lying, it couldn't be…

"You're lying." She spat, her emotions getting the better of her. But Gendrig just smirked.

"One of my more successful projects, and I don't lie."

Rain set the picture down before she turned and left the room in a hurry. She would never be coming back, not now; not ever.

__

Now

Rain shook the memory of earlier out of her head as she turned on her toes, swinging into an alley as she reloaded her gun. She figured she'd gunned down at least one, but the other two were still coming at her. The wound in her leg throbbed, and it had been joined just a short time before by a nasty shot to her abdomen. She'd tried not to let the wound get to her, but even she could only take so much. Since she was still able to run she figured it hadn't hit any vital organs, but she was still trying to be careful.

She could still hear the footsteps behind her, and she hid in a door way right before she heard the shots fired. They stopped for a second, but the guy knew she was there, the door frame was only a make-shift barricade. Dropping to her knees she came out and shot at him. The change in her position had taken him off guard, but he still managed to keep his aim. Another shot wedged itself in her shoulder, and she held back a moan of pain as blood pooled over the wound. One weak moment and she was dead, this guy was way too close. Her own shot connected with his arm and she turned to run before he could recover. She now found herself puffing for breathe, damning everything she could think of.

__

Damned bastards, they've gotten better.

The pain was getting to her and suddenly Rain's vision fizzed out. When her sight came back she had to put her hand out in front of her to stop herself from hitting a wall at her dead sprint. She used the momentum to shove herself towards the left and down the rest of the alley, but it had been a warning. She was getting extremely dizzy from the blood loss, and she could still hear the guy coming after her.

"Hide." She huffed. "Just got to hide now."

As she came to the end of the alley it opened back up into the streets. She knew this part of town, it was getting near the edge of the syndicates' main grounds and she tried to hold back her sigh of relief for when she was actually safe. As she gripped the side of the brick she touched her other hand to her side, the gun still in her hand. She was bleeding pretty badly, and if she didn't get somewhere quick she'd probably bleed to death. She heard drops of blood from her leg wound and the added abdomen wound drip to the ground and took that as a cue to move. There weren't many people in the deserted street and she ran across it to another alley, dodging the impending running foot steps.

She finally gasped out loud as she saw where she was, her body slacking. It was a dead end, a dead fucking end.

Rain collapsed at the end of the alley, checking her pockets for any ammo left. There was none, so she sat down and face the entrance with her gun bared, her right hand clutching her bleeding side.

__

So this is how it's going to end? She thought to herself as the things around her fazed in and out of her vision. Her blood loss was making her dizzy, and she could see the barrel of her gun wavering in front of her. She felt wet cold forming under her jacket and dripping down her side and knew the bleeding wasn't stopping, the rain washing it into a puddle of light red around her. If she was going to die either way, she was at least going to get a good couple of shots in before the bastard got her.

As she waited the footsteps came at a run towards the alley, and her blurred vision made out a man standing at the end of the alley, about twenty-five feet from her. She saw the figure stop as he saw her sitting with her gun bared towards him, her attacker pausing in his actions.

"Not…alive." She spat as she fired off a shot, but the man was lightening fast, and dodged it. Her hand recoiled far too much from the shot, and she found that she didn't have the energy to fire again. She let her hand fall to her side as the man came to her, but something was different.

The figure wasn't one of the burly men, nor was it wearing a suit like the others. Dark green hair was matted to the man's face as he knelt down beside her, pulling back her jacket to check her wounds. She could barely make out the hazel of his eyes beyond her blurred vision, but she could see worry in them.

A stupid grin fell on her face, but she couldn't help it, something in her was happy.

She saw his lips move but she couldn't hear what he'd said. As he pulled off his blue jacket to try and stop her bleeding she found his hand and touched it lightly, the skin warm and strong. She blinked her eyes slowly as she found the words in her throat somewhere, her mouth smiling as she never had before.

"Hi dad. It's so nice to finally meet you."

She saw him stop in puzzlement. She'd gotten it wrong, only one of his eyes was hazel, the other was some odd shade of green, and she knew it wasn't real. As the fog folded over her eyes she tried to reach up and touch those eyes. One of them was showing her the future…

The girl's words had shocked Spike into motionlessness as he pressed lightly against her side, trying to stop the bleeding before she died right there. He stared, completely confused at what she meant. She was so close to death, it wouldn't be odd if she was reliving some childhood memory. It didn't really hit him that she might not be until he noticed the color of her hair, a light green; and her eyes, the shade of hazel his one was.

"Hey, hey don't fall asleep, what did you mean, hey!"

But his words didn't stop her from passing out, her hand falling on his lap from only getting half way to his face. He wondered what he saw there, but pushed it aside; she was going to die if he didn't get her help.

Spike wrapped the girl in his jacket and delicately picked her up, trying not to anger her wounds. Before he stood he took the communicator out of his pocket, quickly switching the channel on.

"Jet, how's our medical supply stock?"

It took a moment for him to respond, but Jet came on the line.

"Full, why?"

"Good."

"Hey Spike, what the hell!.." But he'd switched it off before Jet could finish, standing with the girl in his arms. Why was he getting all the strays?

Author's Note: 

I can't believe it, I actually wrote a second chapter. dies It's been almost a year since this came out. Well, I'm slow, what can I say? I don't know how long the 3rd chapter will take, but I have a pretty good idea for it, so hopefully it won't be a year like last time.

Thank you to those on who reviewed this and re inspired me to continue writing, I trully appreciate it. Anyway, until next time, review if you wish, but I won't cry if you don't.


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